Airtight Games, Murdered: Soul Suspect Developer, Shuts Down

Airtight Games, developers of the recently released Murdered: Soul Suspect, has suddenly and quietly shuttered its doors less than a month after the release of the high-profile game.

According to GeekWire, Airtight’s offices are locked, with a sign outside informing visitors that the company is closed. When GeekWire visited the office, Airtight’s office equipment was being sold off at a huge discount. Airtight's website is still up, and makes no mention of the closure.

Airtight released Murdered: Soul Suspect last month to mediocre reviews and lackluster sales, but the indie developer has been around for a decade, producing two moderate hits in Dark Void and Quantum Conundrum.

Earlier this year, Airtight laid off 14 employees and saw its creative director jump ship for Amazon Game Studios. Executives for the company spoke with IGN, and described the layoff as “part of the normal ebb and flow of game production,” adding , “Airtight Games is actively seeking partners for exciting upcoming projects.”

The closure of any development studio is certainly unfortunate, but Airtight’s end is particularly disappointing. An indie company that focused on AAA titles, Airtight never made a truly great game, but their projects were varied and conceptually interesting. While Murdered: Soul Suspect was criticized for its short campaign and questionable combat, it was also a game about a dead person solving their own murder; a concept as novel as Dark Void, a shooter with a vertical cover system. Even Quantum Conundrum, their downloadable puzzle game, featured a unique system of switching between dimensions with different physical laws. It’s a shame we won’t get to see what they would have thought of next.